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Momiji Sohma
- Past Design = }} |-| Anime = - 2001 Anime = }} |name = Momiji Sohma |kanji = 草摩 紅葉 |romaji = Sōma Momiji |aka = Momitchi (by Shigure) Rabbit (by Hiro) |gender = Male |age = 15 (Beginning of the series) 17 (End of the series) |height = 155.8 cm / 5'1 (age 15) |weight = 47.5 kg / 104.7 lbs (age 15) |hair color = Blonde |eye color = Brown |blood type = O |cursed year = Rabbit |actual year = Pig |astrological sign = Pisces |occupation = Student Businessman |affiliation = Kaibara Municipal High School Sohma Family |parents = Unnamed Father Unnamed Mother |siblings = Momo Sohma (Younger Sister) |spouse = Unnamed Wife |children = Mina Sohma (Daughter) |manga = Chapter 8 |anime = Episode 7 (2001) Episode 3 (2019) |japanese = Ayaka Saitō (2001) Megumi Han (2019) |english = Kimberly Grant (2001) Mikaela Krantz (2019) }} is one of the recurring characters of the Fruits Basket series. He is half-Japanese from his father's side and half-German from his mother's side. He is the Rabbit of the Chinese Zodiac. Momiji is depicted as a cute, cheerful, and childlike boy, who is easily mistaken as an elementary school student when he, in reality, is as old as Hatsuharu Sohma and one year younger than Tohru Honda. He later begins attending Kaibara High along with Hatsuharu as first-year students. Despite his cheerful attitude, he hides a sad family life behind his smile. He lives alone inside the Sohma house since his mother completely rejected him when she first held him. She regretted giving birth to Momiji and begged for Hatori to erase her memories. Because of this, his sister Momo is unaware he is her older brother. In Fruits Basket Another, Momiji is married and the father of Mina Sohma. He has taken over his father's business and has also reconciled with Momo, as she now is his assistant. Appearance Momiji is Japanese-German (Japanese on his father's side, German on his mother's). Momiji also speaks German. Momiji has blond hair, which was inherited from his mother, and brown eyes; most of his physical features were from his mother. For a large part of the series, Momiji is seen wearing childish, lacy, ruffly clothing. He wore the girls' uniform at school with shorts instead of a skirt (though was seen near the end of the series wearing the boys' uniform, looking more mature), which prompts Kyo to hit and yell at him. He has been seen with painted fingernails, and studs in his ears. Momiji also wears hats a lot. Personality Momiji is fifteen years old and almost always bubbly, cheerful, and fun. In the 2001 anime, he is seen playing "Cops and Robbers" with three older boys in the school hall. He came from a rich family, as his father is a businessman. Momiji is also considered as one of the most successful among the boys of the Sohma clan. He is very cute, but there is a somber side of him that not many people see. That is almost certainly because his own mother doesn't know that he is her son. When people cursed by the Zodiac are born, they are born two months prematurely. When Momiji was born two months early, his mother was very worried, and as soon as she held him, he turned into a rabbit. She was so confused and was frightened by the transformation. She tried to love and care for Momiji, but it was too much for her to handle. Sometimes she would snap, and hit or scream at him. Soon, Momiji's father convinced Hatori to erase his wife's memories and ultimately forget Momiji, her only son. After, Momiji's mother just thought he was someone else's son from the Sohma family (she asks Momiji if he should be going home soon in his father's office building and was concerned about his mother worrying about him). Momiji practices the violin, but was pulled out of class by his father when the latter found out that Momo would be attending classes taught by the same teacher. Momo is curious about Momiji, once remarking to her mother that she looks just like him. Her mother brushed it off, but Momo remains suspicious of Momiji. Momiji is often seen as cheerful but when it comes to his mother, he is often mature and calm and often quite sad, knowing that he cannot call her by who she is to him, his mom. He cares a lot for Tohru, and is quite taken by her, such as when he hugged her before being formally introduced and promptly created a large ruckus at the Onigiri festival. Momiji often teases Kyo that if he doesn't get to Tohru soon, he will take her for himself, causing Kyo to get very mad and hit him or call him a name. History Momiji's parents met in college. Their entire relationship went well until Momiji's birth. Those possessed by the Sohma curse are born two months early; this alone put a great amount of pressure on Momiji's mother, and to make things worse, when she tried to hold him, he transformed. ]] At this point, Momiji's mother's mind absolutely and completely splintered. She was unable to smile, and she would snap when ever she saw him, referring to him as "that thing" at times. It became so bad that they had to erase her memory of having had a child. Momiji believed that, no matter how awful a memory is, it shouldn't be erased, but in order to help his mother recover, he agreed to have Hatori erase her memories.Fruits Basket (2019 Anime): Episode 14: That's a Secret Story Overview Fruits Basket First Year Arc Momiji is first seen in one of the working buildings his father owns, presumably waiting for someone. He meets Tohru Honda, who has just finished her part-time job as a cleaning lady, and excitedly greets her in German. Tohru is shocked, since she does not understand Momiji nor knows him at all. Before she is able to excuse herself, Momiji kisses her on the cheek, flustering her and making her dash out in embarrassment. Unbeknownst to her, she drops an ad for the her upcoming school festival, which Momiji picks up.Fruits Basket (2019 Anime): Episode 3: Let's Play Rich Man-Poor Man! Momiji later attends the school festival along with Hatori Sohma. He clings to Yuki and Tohru immediately recognizes him as the boy who kissed her days prior. As he is having fun at the festival and catching everyone's attention due to his energetic personality, he hugs Tohru behind the scenes. Thanks to Yuki distracting the students, Tohru is able to hide Momiji's bunny form and flee from the scene. Momiji later leaves the festival along with Hatori.Fruits Basket (2019 Anime): Episode 6: Perhaps We Should Invite Ourselves Over Tohru is later invited to Hatori's home. Momiji greets Tohru outside of the main estate and leads her to the house. Momiji explains Hatori's tragic past to Tohru, and as both starts feeling sad about it, Momiji asks Tohru if she is glad he met him. Tohru replies that she absolutely does, which puts a smile to Momiji's face.Fruits Basket (2019 Anime): Episode 7: Spring Comes After the end-of-term tests, Momiji invites Tohru, Yuki, and a reluctant Kyo to a hot springs inn owned by the Sohma family for White Day. The next day, Tohru and the Sohma boys visit the inn and spend the night there. As the four continue with their fun activities, Momiji continues to show him affection to Tohru and even asks if they should sleep together, much to Yuki and Kyo's dismay. The next morning, Momiji reveals that he is a third-year middle schooler and that he and Hatsuharu will be joining her high school as first years. Tohru is more than shocked to realize that Momiji is only a year younger than her despite his young appearance.Fruits Basket (2019 Anime): Episode 11: This is a Wonderful Inn Second Year Arc The second school year begins with Tohru looking forward to meeting Hatsuharu and Momiji as first years, with Kyo reluctantly accompanying her. When Momiji appears wearing a girl's uniform and Hatsuharu is wearing jewelry and having two different hair colors, Kyo is more than irritated and they also get scolded by the student council president Makoto Takei. The student council president puts Momiji down for wearing the girls uniform and apparently not being a "man" which saddens Momiji, to which Hatsuharu aggressively defends Momiji by beating up Takei. Hatsuharu also tells two fellow student council members that Momiji will eventually grow up into a handsome young man, which is why they can let Momiji do as he wants for the time being. After being able to convince Takei with some hilarious methods that make them "accept defeat", Momiji informs the Sohma boys that Akito Sohma has arrived at the school, distressing all of them. At the end of the day, Momiji plays badminton with Tohru, her friends, and the other Sohmas.Fruits Basket (2019 Anime): Episode 12: You Look Like You're Having Fun Momiji is seen watching over his mother and younger sister Momo Sohma, from a distance. After school, during Tohru's part-time job, Momiji accompanies her and helps her out. Tohru begins wondering about Momiji's heritage to which Momiji tells her that he is half-German from his mother's side and shows a picture of her. Out of coincidence, Momiji's mother arrives with Momo at the building (since it is owned by Momiji's father), and judging by the way they talk to each other, Tohru realizes that Momiji's mother does not have any memories of him. Later, Momiji goes on to explain that his mother's memories of him were erased since she couldn't bear having a son that transformed into a rabbit. And as such, Momo does not know Momiji is her older brother, and his father does not want him to interact with them. Tohru is saddened about what his mother did, especially when the story reminded her of the day her mother Kyoko Honda died, but someday like Momiji, she wants to embrace all of her memories and consider those memories precious. Tohru pulls Momiji into a hug and they comfort each other.Fruits Basket (2019 Anime): Episode 14: That's a Secret When going camping at Sohma's summer house, he and Tohru scavenge for beetles, along with Hiro and Kisa. Akito visited the house before he left, to visit Tohru. Momiji tries to protect Tohru from him, and when Momiji is struck by Akito, Tohru, who was out for some fresh air, stepped between the two. She is then also injured by Akito. He then apologizes, after he runs to get the adults' assistance. His younger sister, Momo, grows suspicious of his resemblance to her mother ever since they first met at their father's office building. His father immediately pulls him out of violin lessons, because Momo is going to the same teacher and she is asking about him. On Tohru's way to find out whether Kureno Sohma is the same Kureno that Arisa kept mentioning, she catches Momo sneaking into the Sohma grounds to watch Momiji play his violin.Fruits Basket Manga: Vol 13, Chapter 74 Tohru talks to her, and Momo reveals that she has been stalking him from afar for a long time. She wants Momiji to act as her "big brother" and asks Tohru to tell Momiji. Tohru promises she will. When she tells Momiji, this causes him to cry because he is so happy that Momo would want such a thing. Third Year Arc Momiji later enters his growth spurt and has grown very much, looks very mature and wears the boy's school uniform. However, he still wears his rabbit backpack and acts childish (i.e. being excited over ice cream). In fact, he walks with Tohru and holds her hand. Most of their classmates are surprised when they see him, Tohru saying it's because he "grew so fast and became so handsome". Momiji gets excited when told this and goes on to say how being small was convenient at times but that it's good he grew because he's "a man, after all". It is hinted he has developed romantic feelings for Tohru. He even tells Kyo in the same chapter that if he, Momiji, becomes more handsome and taller that maybe then Tohru will accept when he proposes, going on to say that neither one of them should give up. In this volume, Haru noted that Momiji and Tohru looked like a couple from any angle as they are still very close, and hold hands while walking.Fruits Basket Manga: Vol 19, Chapter 111 At some point, Momiji's curse is broken.Fruits Basket Manga: Vol 20, Chapter 115Fruits Basket Manga: Vol 20, Chapter 116 Akito realizes that his curse was broken and begs Momiji to stay. However, Momiji tells Akito that he will come back to him next time. At school, Haru, Yuki and Kyo realize that Momiji feels 'different', even late for school, though he was his usual self. He stands alone across a school corridor and watches Tohru talking to Yuki and Haru. Kyo arrives and informs him that the other two were worried about him as well as himself. Momiji sees clearly how Tohru feels about Kyo, and naturally, Momiji feels pain that the person he loves is in love with someone else. Momiji then informs Kyo that his curse was broken (hence the strange feeling between the four of them) and tells Kyo with a sad smile on his face that Tohru would be happier if Kyo's curse was broken. After school, Momiji came back to Akito and he told her that he cannot live by her side any longer as he was no longer bound to Akito by any means. Akito slaps him on his left cheek out of anger and scolds him, saying that if he leaves, he will have nowhere else to go and call home. Despite this, however, Momiji decides to move forward and have hope in his future, regardless of the pain he is feeling from the many circumstances around him. Fruits Basket Manga: Vol 23, Chapter 132 He had told Haru (with Rin nearby) that he wants to find a girlfriend as cute as Tohru and show her off to Kyo. He has matured in both appearance and attitude, though this is sort of sudden (though it might be attributed to the fact that his curse is broken).Fruits Basket Manga: Vol 23, Chapter 136 Fruits Basket Another It was revealed that he has a daughter named Mina, she loves baseball and is very good at batting. She also revealed that Momiji is a businessman as he's always traveling for business. It's also revealed that his sister Momo now knows that Momiji is her older brother, so one can assume he's also reconciled with his mother or at least tolerate one another for Momo's sake. The Rabbit of the Zodiac Momiji is cursed by the spirit of the Rabbit of the Zodiac. Whenever he is hugged by the opposite sex, or if his body goes through a great deal of stress, Momiji transforms into his Chinese Zodiac form. Like all the Cursed Sohmas, their respective animals are drawn to them; and in Momiji's case, Rabbits. The Rabbit is the fourth of all Zodiac animals. In Chinese culture, Rabbits are earnest with everything they do; they just ask that others treat them the same way, which applies to Momiji rather well. S1E7-2001 (201).png|Momiji in his rabbit form in the 2001 version. S1E6-2019 (94).png|Momiji in his rabbit form in the 2019 version. When Momiji's curse broke, he was subconsciously aware of it, and immediately broke down in tears. Momiji realized that after his Curse broke, he was no longer bound to Akito and no longer felt the need to be by her side. Although his Curse broke, Momiji felt even lonelier, but swears to find his own happiness. Momiji's curse broke earlier than everyone else, and the overall second to break (after Kureno). Trivia *Momiji's rabbit form in the 2001 anime, has red eyes, but is not completely white, because his fur color is influenced by his German descent. This means his rabbit form may be partially albino. *He seems to take after his mother a lot more than his father in personality and looks. Momo has noticed this, telling her mother that he looks just like her. *Momiji was intended to be named Kureno, but due to a mix-up, was dubbed Momiji. The author says that she feels good about this, because the name Momiji fits him better. *The vision the girls in student council have of a more mature Momiji turns to out to be similar, if not identical, to the real grown-up Momiji. *He is the second one (after Kureno) to have it broken. *He seems to be very similar in appearance and behavior with Ouran High School Host Club's Mitsukuni Haninozuka, also known as "Honey". Both are childish, cute, blond and somehow associated with rabbits. Momiji turns into one while Honey loves his stuffed bunny named "Usa-chan". Interestingly, they share the same seiyuu. He also has a similar behavior and appearance as Sealand, from Hetalia. Both are in some way ignored, Sealand is ignored as a country and Momiji ignored by his mother. *Its seems toward the end of the series, Momiji's relationship with Tohru seemed to shift from a close friendship, to a crush, this was noticed when Momiji told Kyo that if he wasn't going to propose to Tohru, he would, although kidding, he seemed as if he had a seriousness to him. *In Japanese, 'Momiji' means maple tree. *In the 2001 anime, in Momiji's song he says "the birds and the bees sing Momiji", perhaps this line is referring to the English idiom, the birds and the bees. es:Momiji Sohma fr:Momiji Soma Category:Characters Category:Fruits Basket Characters Category:Sohma Family Category:Cursed Sohmas Category:Male